Films A to Z

André Schäfer, born on 30 August 1966 in Troisdorf, studied history and journalism at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich from 1987 to 1992. At the same time, he trained at the German School of Journalism in Munich from 1987 to 1993. He then worked as a freelance journalist for various print media and produced numerous articles and documentaries for various television stations. From spring 1999 to spring 2001, Schäfer was editor and 1st reporter in the cultural editorial department of WDR television. Afterwards he founded the production company Florianfilm with his mother Marianne Schäfer in Munich. Since then he has been working with her on his own projects and producing films by other directors.

His numerous TV documentaries and reports include "Culinary delights: Hauptsache Kaviar" (2004), "James Dean - Kleiner Prinz, little Bastard" (2005, in cooperation with Werner Köhnke), "Der Jacobsweg" (2006, in cooperation with Sebastian Lemke) and "Der Bernsteinzug - Eine Reise durchs Baltikum" (2007, in cooperation with Eva Gerberding). His documentary film "100 Porsches and Me" (2006), in which international celebrities such as Jerry Seinfeld talk about their fascination for German sports cars, was premiered at the Leipzig Documentary Film Festival. "Look me in the eye, little one" (2007), about the steadily growing self-confidence of Queer Cinema, was shown in the Panorama at the Berlinale. "Lenin kam nur bis bis Lüdenscheid - Meine kleine deutsche Revolution" (2008), based on the autobiographical book by the philosopher Richard David Precht who grew up in the GDR, was nominated for Best Documentary Film at the German Film Awards 2009.

Schäfer also continued to produce documentaries for television, including those about the writer John Le Carré ("King of Spies - John le Carré", 2008), Johannes Calvin ("Reformer and Appeal Figure", 2009) and the actress Doris Day ("What a Difference a Day Made: Doris Day Superstar", 2009). His other cinema works include "Perry Rhodan - Our Man in Space" (2011), about the makers, readers and cultural impact of the famous series of novels, "Rock Hudson - Beautiful Strange Man" (2010), and "John Irving and How He Sees the World" (2011), about the life and work of the popular writer.

With the author and journalist Moritz von Uslar as the central figure, Schäfer made the documentary "Deutschboden" (2013), about everyday life in a small town in Brandenburg and the extent to which it corresponds with the negative clichés about Brandenburg. "Deutschboden" was awarded the German Film Critics' Prize for Best Documentary Film. For his TV documentary "Willy Brandt - Erinnerungen an ein Politikerleben" Schäfer received the Bavarian Television Award 2014.

Schäfer's documentary film "Herr von Bohlen" celebrated its premiere at the Leipzig DOK-Fest 2015. In a mixture of historical original footage and play scenes, the film traces the unusually multi-faceted life of Arndt von Bohlen und Halbach (1938-1986), the last scion of the Krupp dynasty. In November 2015 "Lord of Bohlen" was released in the cinemas.

Schäfer then shot "You'll Never Walk Alone" (2017), a documentary film about the piece of music of the same name from 1945, which became a hymn for football fans all over the world. In collaboration with Eva Gerberding, he then realized "Auch Leben ist eine Kunst - Der Fall Max Emden" (2018), about the German-Jewish textile entrepreneur and department store pioneer Max Emden (1874-1940), and how his descendants today fight for the return of art treasures that were stolen from the family by the Nazis. The film was released in German cinemas in April 2019.

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